1. Area of the Art
The present invention relates generally to reagent handling methods and systems used in conjunction with immunodiagnostic instruments, and more specifically to methods and systems for transporting and sorting multiple reagent packs and reagent packs used in conjunction with the systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Throughout this application, various references are referred to within parentheses. Disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. Full bibliographic citation for these references may be found at the end of this application, preceding the claims.
Immunodiagnostic instruments are widely used in clinical chemistry sampling and analyzing applications, and often are involved in the processing of multiple reagent packs for performing various assays. Many times it is required that the system be capable of receiving and storing multiple reagent packs in a refrigerated environment in such a manner that each stored pack can be randomly accessed and brought from storage into a position for pipetting. It is desirable for this to be accomplished in such a manner that requires minimal footwork and a degree of freedom.
The following references are found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,927, issued to Takekawa on Nov. 20, 1984, disclosed a conventional automatic chemical analyzer. It includes a reagent delivery unit having a plurality of reagent bottles and a syringe type dispenser for delivering given amounts of reagents into a plurality of empty reaction vessels set in a cassette, and a reaction vessel supply unit for holding a plurality of cassettes and for supplying successively the reaction vessels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,752, issued to Thorne et al. on Jul. 7, 1987, disclosed a conventional automatic random access analyzer. It includes an elongate rack having a plurality of slots aligned in substantially parallel arrangement along the longitudinal axis of the rack for removably positioning reagent packages, an introduction station for receiving the plurality of reagent packages, each having a plurality of receptacles, a liquid transfer station for transferring the receptacles, a storage area for storing the plurality of reagent packages, and a shuttle system for transporting individual reagent packages.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,342, issued to Kelln et al. on Aug. 16, 1988, disclosed a conventional reagent handling system. It includes a transport mechanism interengageable with a coupling structure for disposing a series of reagent containers for movement past a reagent station.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,825, issued to Weyrauch et al. on May 24, 1994, disclosed a chemical analyzer. It includes a turntable rotatably mounted about a vertical axis and having a plurality of equiangularly spaced radial compartments for releasably mounting a plurality of individually disposable cuvettes, and a sample/reagent tray rotatably mounted about an axis parallel to the turntable axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,549, issued to MacIndoe, Jr. on Jul. 26, 1994, disclosed an assay module transport apparatus for use in an automated analytical instrument. It includes an assay module supply unit for holding magazines with open-faced vessels, each having a layer of material covering its open face, an assay module ejector mechanism having a slider block and a pusher rod mounted on the leading end of the slider block for pushing an assay module from an assay module supply unit onto an assay module receiving platform, an assay module transfer mechanism for transferring the assay module from the assay module receiving platform to a testing system, and a cutter assembly for cutting the layer of material covering the open-faced vessels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,272, issued to Koch et al. on Nov. 26, 1996, disclosed a reagent kit for use in an automatic analytical apparatus. The reagent kit includes a casing which has a bottom, sidewalls, a removable lid, and at least one individually removable reagent container. The lid defines at least one opening which is of sufficient dimension for circulating air through the interior of the casing and around the reagent container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,822, issued to Carey et al. on Mar. 11, 1997, disclosed a reagent handling system and reagent pack for keeping fluids with or without suspensions, mixed or suspended upon rocking. It includes a tray for slidably retaining a plurality of reagent pack slides in a side by side configuration along an axis, and an inclination drive and hinge mechanically connected to the tray for selectably inclining the tray about the axis and the hinge. U.S. Pat. No. 5,705,074, issued to Katzman on May 12, 1998, disclosed a reagent segment for feeding reagent to the multiple capillaries of the automated capillary electrophoresis apparatus. The reagent segment has an elongated body with an elongated and continuous open trough, a drainage zone in a floor of the trough, and a fill section in the trough sufficiently wide to receive a dispenser probe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,928, issued to Carey et al. on Aug. 4, 1998, disclosed a reagent handling system and reagent packs for keeping fluids with or without suspensions, mixed or suspended upon rocking. The reagent pack has mixing baffles operative to cause mixing of fluids within the reagent pack, where the baffles are disposed in proximity and opposing each other so that a throat region having a pair of converging, then diverging, walls is defined between a pair of baffles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,373, issued to Hutchins et al. on Sep. 21, 1999, disclosed an environmentally controlled system for processing chemical products. It includes a plurality of interchangeable units connected in an array arranged to sequentially receive the products. Each unit has a work station covered by a canopy having at least one open end connected with an open end of an adjacent unit. The interconnected units form an enclosed chamber encompassing the work stations and covered by the interconnected canopies.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,214, issued to Stylli et al. on Nov. 16, 1999, disclosed an automated and integrated system for rapidly identifying useful chemicals in liquid samples, and, more particularly, for automated screening of chemicals with biological activity in liquid samples. The system includes at least one multi-lane sample transporter for transporting the addressable chemical wells between the storage and the sample distribution modules and optionally having programmable control of transport of the selected addressable chemical wells. The addressable wells are commonly organized or integrated into a plurality of addressable plates.
One of the disadvantages of many conventional reagent transporting and storage systems used in conjunction with automated chemical analyzers is that they do not provide a refrigerated environment for receiving and storing multiple reagent packs in such a manner that each stored pack can be randomly accessed and brought from the storage position to the pipetting position. Another disadvantage of many conventional reagent transporting and storage systems is that they have only limited capacities in that they often can service only one single pipetter. They are unable to leave a reagent pack in a pipetting position while moving another reagent pack to another pipetter.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a new method and system for transporting and sorting multiple reagent packs which can be used in conjunction with immunodiagnostic instruments and also overcome the disadvantages of conventional systems for handling reagent packs.
The present invention is directed to a new method and system for transporting and sorting multiple reagent packs used in conjunction with an immunodiagnostic instrument, and is also directed to new reagent packs used in conjunction with the new system.
It is one of the primary objects of the present invention to provide a new method and system for transporting and sorting multiple reagent packs used in conjunction with an immunodiagnostic instrument, with the capacity of providing a refrigerated environment for receiving and storing multiple reagent packs in such a manner that each stored pack can be randomly accessed and brought from the storage position to the pipetting position.
It is also a primary object of the present invention to provide a new method and system for transporting and storing multiple reagent packs used in conjunction with an immunodiagnostic instrument, with the capacity of servicing multiple pipetting stations by leaving one reagent pack in one pipetting station while moving another reagent pack to another pipetting station.
It is another one of the primary objects of the present invention to provide a new reagent pack to be used in conjunction with the new transporting and sorting system.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a transporting and storing system to be used in conjunction with an immunodiagnostic instrument. The transporting and storing system of the present invention includes a multiplicity of reagent packs; a gantry movably mounted on a rack structure for carrying a gripper mechanism, wherein the gripper mechanism has gripping jaws for engagement with the reagent pack; a power assembly for actuating the respective movement of the gantry, the gripper mechanism and the gripping jaws; a storage nest having a multiplicity of compartments, each adapted for storing a one of the respective reagent packs; and a pipetting nest having a multiplicity of compartment, each adapted for retaining a respective one of the reagent packs for simultaneous pipetting.
The transporting and storing system of the present invention also includes at least one transport route for allowing movement of the gripper mechanism carried by the gantry for transporting the reagent packs between the storage nest and the pipetting nest.
The transporting and storing system of the present invention further includes the means for positioning and positively retaining the reagent pack by the gripper mechanism, including complementary features on the reagent pack and the gripping jaws, for causing the reagent pack to be slightly lifted up or dropped down when engaged or disengaged by the gripping jaws and moved out or in of the storage compartment.
In addition, the transporting and storing system of the present invention includes the means for maintaining precise pipetting position of the reagent pack, including spring-loaded members located in the pipetting compartment, for limiting the movement of the reagent pack during pipetting.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a transporting and storing method. The method of the present invention includes the steps of: providing a gripper mechanism having a pair of generally oppositely disposed and synchronically movable gripping jaws, each having an inner side for engagement with one of the reagent packs; mounting a gantry on a rack structure to move horizontally for carrying the gripper mechanism, such that it is vertically movable on the gantry and horizontally moveable with the gantry; aligning a multiplicity of storage compartments in vertical columns and horizontal rows for storing the reagent packs respectively; and aligning a multiplicity of pipetting compartment in at least one horizontal row for simultaneous pipetting, while leaving at least one vertical transport route between two adjacent and spaced apart columns of the compartments for allowing the vertical movement of the gripper mechanism, and at least one horizontal transport route between two adjacent and spaced apart rows of the compartments for allowing the horizontal movement of the gripper mechanism carried by the gantry, for transporting the reagent packs between the storage compartments and the pipetting compartments.
The transporting and storing method of the present invention also includes the steps of moving the gripper mechanism along the at least one vertical route and the at least one horizontal route to transport the reagent packs between the storage compartments and the pipetting compartments, and while leaving one of the reagent packs in a respective one of the pipetting compartment for pipetting, moving the gripper mechanism to transport another one of the reagent packs to another one of the pipetting compartments for simultaneous pipetting.
The transporting and storing method of the present invention further includes the steps of positioning and positively retaining the reagent pack with the gripper mechanism by utilizing holes with a tapered conical opening on the reagent pack and complementary conical pins on the gripping jaws, such that the reagent packs are slightly lifted up when being moved in and out of their respective the storage compartments to avoid direct contact therebetween, and maintaining precise pipetting position of the reagent pack by utilizing spring-loaded v-shaped members located in the pipetting compartments for limiting the movement of the reagent pack during pipetting.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a reagent pack used in conjunction with a transporting and storing system for an immunodiagnostic instrument, where the transporting and storing system has a gripper mechanism with inwardly protruding pins for positioning and positively retaining the reagent pack. The reagent pack of the present invention has an elongated body having sufficient thickness for having at least one well, where the elongated body has a slim profile with a wide middle portion, a narrow front portion with a pointed front end, and a narrow ear portion with a rounded rear end having two generally opposite outer sides.
The reagent pack of the present invention also has the means for facilitating the position and the positive retention of the reagent pack by the gripper mechanism, including complementary holes on the outer sides of the elongated body for engagement with the inwardly protruding pins of the gripping mechanism of the transporting and storing system.
As explained in greater detail below, the new system of the present invention is well suited for receiving and storing multiple reagent packs in a refrigerated environment in such a manner that each stored reagent pack can be randomly accessed and brought from the storage to a pipetting position. This is accomplished in such a manner that requires minimal footwork and a degree of freedom.
The invention is defined in its fullest scope in the appended claims and is described below in its preferred embodiments.